Woman faces 10-year term
in theft of $103,000 rent

By Debra Barayuga
Star-Bulletin

A former property manager charged with stealing more than $100,000 in security deposits and rent from a city housing project in Nuuanu could get 10 years imprisonment.

Judy Lamoka, 56, yesterday changed her plea from not guilty to guilty to first-degree theft and money laundering charges. She will be sentenced Jan. 14.

Deputy public defender Ed Harada said he will likely seek probation for his client. She has no criminal history.

The state will seek some prison time for Lamoka, said Deputy Prosecutor Chris Young.

Circuit Judge Victoria Marks said she would be inclined to place Lamoka on probation and require that she pay some restitution when sentenced and during probation.

Lamoka is accused of stealing $103,000 between March 6, 1995, and April 4, 1997, from her employer National Mortgage and Finance Co., which ran Chinatown Gateway Plaza at 1031 Nuuanu Ave.

She is charged with renting apartments without notifying her employer, and kept security deposits and monthly rents for at least two dozen apartments, Young said.

National Mortgage began investigating Lamoka after a renter who unsuccessfully tried to get a rental agreement from her went to the company.

National Mortgage has repaid the city for the losses because Lamoka was their employee at the time. She will have to pay restitution to her former employer.